GRASS STAINS

Perhaps, when the data are released a few weeks from now, Statistics
Canada's annual survey of crime patterns will show that arrests for
marijuana possession dropped last year. Let's hope so. In 1999, the
total soared by 16 per cent over the previous year. The result:
Thousands of people were saddled with a criminal record for doing what
the Canadian Medical Association estimates 1.5 million Canadians do --
smoke pot.

The marijuana debate has ground on for decades. It has now resurfaced
in the House of Commons, where all five parties have supported the
creation of a committee that will, among other things, examine the
merits of decriminalizing the weed.

That's not the same as outright legalization, an option fraught with
difficulty. Decriminalization -- a course the CMA has urged, along
with many police leaders -- would follow the lead of the Netherlands
and other European countries and relegate small-scale marijuana
possession to a level of seriousness that no longer requires
prosecution. Many Canadian police currently ignore the law, but it
nonetheless stands. The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act needs to
be amended.

Addressing marijuana trafficking and the recreational use of other
drugs is more problematic. But simple possession of less than, say, an
ounce of marijuana can be dealt with readily. The change should not be
seen as approval for the use of pot, particularly among young people.
But criminal sanctions for smoking a joint are reefer madness.
Parliament should decriminalize marijuana at the earliest opportunity.